


Kasia and the Sleeping Princess

by maxinia



Category: Uprooted - Naomi Novik
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 08:51:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7708702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maxinia/pseuds/maxinia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kasia discovers something strange in the woods while off adventuring. A little bit of a reflection on the life she's led as she steps into a new chapter. Set 20-odd years after the end of Uprooted, this is basically the life I always wanted Kasia to proceed to have. Kasia is badass bae, and if Agnieszka gets an apprentice then she does too <3<br/>Also it's been a while since I've read Uprooted, so I feel like the tone here is way off from the tone of the book. But since I don't have a copy of the book, it's gonna be how it's gonna be. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kasia and the Sleeping Princess

The grove felt… wrong, somehow. It grew at odd angles. The roots jutted up strangely in the center, rising three or so feet into a table roughly the size and shape of a large grave. Flowers densely populated the whole floor of the clearing, but they acquired a strange green tint and pulse-like susurrus upon the table. The trees - heavy old oaks - had grown fat with years in a loose circle around the plinth, but only one had dared to enter the clearing. Smaller than the rest, and a different species, laden with blushing white flowers, it perched toward one end of the plinth.

  
It looked like it might have been a heart tree, but if it was, the clearing was uncharacteristically peaceful. It felt sleepy, rather than malevolent. She decided the tree may be influenced by magic, but not the kind she feared the most.

  
Turning her mind back to the plinth, she moved to one corner of the stand, where the flora was lowest. She grabbed a fistful of roots and pulled with all her might. They reluctantly broke free, revealing more layers of roots, these long dead. She pulled them away. Again, she found herself faced with roots, but when she pulled those free, she was met with only a fine layer of dirt and decaying leaves.

  
She dusted it away, feeling at the surface that lay underneath.

  
Stone. Though its color had been muddied long ago, it still held a remarkably smooth surface. She rested a hand on it. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't freezing, either. It just felt strangely... lethargic. There was no malignance, no hint of despair or decay other than the simple age of the place. Whatever slept below the tree, she felt she could leave it undisturbed safely.

  
She stepped away from the plinth. As she did, sunlight cascaded past her figure and fell upon the cleared corner of the table.

  
Kasia gasped. It wasn't stone at all, but a glass roof. She shifted to let more sun fall through and hurriedly brushed more dirt off the surface. Squinting, she peered into the table.

  
The interior appeared to be lined in a pristine white silk, untouched by the age of the surrounding grove. Squinting harder through the dirty glass, she could barely make out a shape resting in the middle of the box. It was dark, possibly black leather, long, curved, and thin. Another rested just beyond it, and a paler color disappeared into the depths of the box. She frowned. Could those be… shoes? On a pair of legs?

  
She pulled away the roots, struggling to clear more of the glass as the interwoven plants clung to each other. Eventually she had cleared and brushed off a most of a corner. The light slanted through, illuminating the legs and torso of a girl. She wore a deep blue dress. Through the grimy glass, it looked almost like the color of deep, choppy water on a clear day. It was embroidered with golden thread, woven to form beautifully intricate flowers. Kasia had raised Polnya's royal children, had sat through countless unending dinners and balls, and she'd never seen a dress with this level of craftsmanship.

  
No - not a dress. But she could faintly recall a tapestry, meticulously cared for by a caretaker of one of the ocean-side royal residences. The withered old man had told her it was his favorite. It came from a time long since past, when the princesses could weave gold and the queens could dye the sky into their silk. Kasia had rolled her eyes at the time, but seeing the breathtaking blue of the girl's dress, she understood what he had meant. The caretaker hadn't known the piece's exact age, but he had estimated in centuries.

  
Everyone had heard folktales of princesses cursed into hundred-year sleeps. But centuries? Perhaps this grove was malevolent, and by opening the chamber, Kasia would release wicked spirits. But could she walk away, knowing that there might be a cursed girl trapped in here?

  
She took a step back from the table - no, the tomb - and assessed the overgrowth. She doubted she could budge the coffin lid without toppling the tree, so she set about ripping free its roots. It had latched itself to the coffin directly over the girl's heart, where the sleeping curse would be concentrated.

  
The sun had begun to set by the time Kasia finally toppled the tree. The weight of it pulled most of the roots off the glass coffin; she only had to brush away the remaining plant matter for a few minutes to completely clear the table.

  
The girl was shockingly young. She could be no more than 15 years old. Her golden hair shone in the fading sunlight, glinting to match the embroidery on her gown. Her expression as she slept was not peaceful, but emotionless.

  
How long had this girl been here, unaware of the world growing old around her? What kingdoms was she dreaming of waking up to?  
The girl's hands were folded gently across her midsection, but between her fingers Kasia could see a faint green glow. Peering through the dirty glass, she could make out tendrils of green climbing up her veins to her shuttered eyelids.

  
She felt around the edges of the table for a latch, or edge, or some sort of way to lift the coffin lid. Finding none, she contemplated the table and the late hour for a few minutes in the gathering silence of dusk, before drawing her sword and carefully slicing it across the surface of the glass, a deep etch that she hoped would weaken it. Clenching her fist above the line, she uttered a short prayer that the girl would remain uninjured and brought her hand down with all her formidable strength.

  
The glass shattered. The noise echoed through the heavy silence of the forest. The girl, it seemed, was too deeply enthralled by whatever curse had taken her to stir. Kasia gently cleared away the glass, working her way around the lid until she came to the girl's clasped hands.

  
Logically, she knew that simply grabbing whatever lay beneath her hands was a poor plan. She was made of stronger stuff, yes, but she knew there was still a large likelihood that she would quickly succumb to a spell this potent. But, aside from somehow finding a large ladle to scoop the gem out of the coffin, she couldn’t think of a better way to dislodge the girl's sleep.

  
In one swift movement, she dove her hand beneath the girl's, grabbed something hard, and moved to toss it across the grove. Time seemed to slow as her arm arced upward; the source of the spell was a beautiful, shimmering green gem. She knew she should look away, but it captivated her attention with its translucency, folding the late evening light into intricacies, seeming to hold depths beyond what it should. Before she realized that she hadn't thrown it, she was already sliding down the edge of the tomb to the ground, her entire body growing heavier and heavier. She was tired, so tired, tired of it all…

  
She awoke to small hands roughly shaking her shoulders.

  
"Stranger!" a girl's voice was saying. She had a strange, thick accent. "Stranger, awaken! Stranger!"

  
Kasia lifted her head and opened her eyes. The girl from the tomb stood over her, her face lined with worry. When she saw Kasia's eyes open, she released her shoulders and stepped back.

  
"Are you alright?" she asked. She looked slightly older, awake. Her face was more lined.

  
Kasia rose to her feet unsteadily, leaning against the tomb for support. The girl hovered nearby, on the edge of assisting, but too shy to actually do so.

  
Once she was upright, Kasia took in her surroundings. Night had fallen. The only light to see by was the moonlight, far overhead, and in the far corner of the grove, next to a large stick, the green glow of the cursed gem. Kasia drew her sword and stalked to it. She aligned the point, and then struck down, hard. The gem shattered. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the girl.

  
"I am Kasia," she said, extending a hand. "Of Polnya."

  
"Zoya," the girl said, cautiously taking her hand. "Also of Polnya. Thank you. Thank you for rescuing me."

  
Kasia nodded. She looked at the girl's dress, a beautiful thing even in the dim light, but centuries out of date. She realized the girl's strange accent wasn't foreign; it was archaic. Her heart ached. The girl didn't know how long she'd slept. She knew she should tell her, but she couldn't bring herself to do so yet.

  
She surveyed the clearing. It was too late to venture through the forest; it wasn't particularly safe to stay here, either, but here she had a lower chance of Zoya getting lost.  
"We should camp here for the night," she said, pulling her pack off her back. "And then set off in the morning."

  
The girl nodded, watching intently as Kasia pulled a sleeping roll and some light provisions out. She unfurled the roll and passed it to the girl, who took it sheepishly.

  
"I'm not sleepy," she said.

  
Kasia understood; after only a short while under the gem's curse, she felt as if she'd slept a whole day. "It will keep you warm, at least," she said. The girl nodded and wrapped herself in the blankets, then leaned against her tomb and stared fearfully at the woods beyond.

  
Kasia passed her all the provisions she'd brought, all of which the girl ate before noticing Kasia hadn't saved any for herself. She apologized profusely, but Kasia explained that she didn't mind at all. She needed less food than most. The girl apologized again, and then settled into a sullen silence.

  
Kasia sat next to the girl and watched the forest with her.

  
After a while, she spoke. "I don't believe this forest was ever troublesome, but there used to be dark, nasty woods in Polnya. Woods that would eat a man whole. They are much rarer, now."

  
The girl nodded, slowly. "When… When I went to sleep, we would always hear tales of the woods on the border with Rosya."

  
"It was only very recently that my friend stopped the evilness that lurked in the Woods," Kasia said.

  
Zoya looked up at her. "Please, I can't stand not knowing any longer. I've heard tales of princesses cursed into hundred-year sleeps. How long have I been away for? Who is king now? Aurek, my brother? Or one of his sons - Dymek, or little Mosze?"

  
Kasia shook her head, and she thought for a moment before deciding quick, simple honest answers would have to do. "I'm sorry. I don't recall those names. If they were kings, they've faded from all but tomes and folktales. From the look of your clothes, I would say you've slept for around four hundred years."

  
"Four…" the girl trailed off. Kasia glanced over. She was crying into the blue fabric of her dress. Gently, she laid a hand on her shoulder and tried to soothe her. Kasia could not imagine what it was like to suddenly lose everything and everyone she'd ever known, but she knew with a grim certainty what it was like to come back into this world different and strange, and she worried for the girl.

  
Eventually, Zoya's tears receded and she sat in morose silence. Kasia judged that they had hours left until sunrise.

  
"May I tell you a story?" she asked.

  
The girl glanced at her in surprise. "Go… Go ahead," she sniffled. "Please do."

  
Kasia began with the battle of the Dragon's tower, with Stashek and Marisha - so small, back in those days - and the fearsome Wood Queen. And then she told Zoya what she'd come to know of Agnieszka and the Dragon's voyage into the Woods, to stop the Queen once and for all. Then she told her of raising the royal children; rare expeditions with Agnieszka into particularly dangerous places of corruption to rescue those who remained; the peace treaties she had helped broker with Rosya; and her later journeys as a knight of Polnya, once the children had reached adulthood and no longer needed her. She told her of the moment when one first sets eyes on a new land, of climbing mountains and seeing the whole of the world laid out before her, of protecting people from beasts and spells and other harms. Searching for stories to keep Zoya's mind off her woes, she told her of how strange and exhilarating it was to enter a tavern late in the evening and hear a bard expounding upon your own exploits.

  
Finally, as the sun was coming up, she told Zoya of when she was seventeen, and the Dragon had not chosen her. The Wood, instead, eventually decided to take her, and then Agnieszka stole her back. But she came back different, you see - she showed Zoya her wooden skin - and the world had feared her. But she had not let their fear, or the awful feeling of knowing you do not belong, change her into something hateful.

  
By the time she finished this last tale, the sun had risen. Zoya stepped out of and bundled up the sleeping roll. Kasia slung it over her back, and then led the way back through the forest to the nearest town. In the daylight, it was an easy trek.

  
Once out of the forest, she purchased Zoya more sensible clothes, and though the villagers were more than willing to offer free passage to the Lady Kasia they'd heard so many tales about, she dutifully paid for a cart to carry her and Zoya back to the capitol.

  
All the while, she tried not to worry about how well Zoya would be able to adapt to her new life. She was a princess of Polnya, Kasia learned. Her father's eldest child. She had been promised to the eldest son of a distant kingdom, but a witch, angry with her father's harsh attitudes toward magic, had gotten to her on her wedding day - hence, the beautiful blue gown. Late one night, sleeping on a straw mattress in a small town's only tavern, Zoya expressed her anger that she had never been able to choose her own path and that the path she'd been forced to follow had led to such grief.

  
"I miss all of them so, so much," she said. "But if there is one good thing to come of all this, it is that my life, from now on, is mine to direct. And I won't let anyone change that. I won't. Not again."

  
"That is the best way to live one's life, I've found," Kasia said, smiling.

  
Once at the capitol, Kasia marched Zoya into Stashek's throne room. The guards recognized her and deigned to look the other way as she strode past plaintiffs waiting to see the king.

  
"Stashek," she called.

  
"Kasia!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. He shooed away his advisors. He had grown into a stocky young man, and a just ruler. "Welcome back!" He glanced around the room before leaning towards her and whispering, "Also, you know, now that I am king, and have been for several years, if you could steer clear of calling me by my old pet name - "

  
"Stashek," Kasia repeated, and he rolled his eyes, but listened. She nodded to Zoya. "I sent a letter ahead of us. This is Zoya, of the house of Polnya."

  
Stashek's eyes alighted on Zoya, and he smiled warmly. He bowed. "My lady. And my aunt, so I've heard."

  
"A pleasure to meet you, sire," she said, curtsying formally. Stashek raised an eyebrow at her thick accent - a look with no ill-intent, but nevertheless, Kasia shot him a disapproving glare.  
Zoya glanced nervously to Kasia. "And… I believe that would be great-great-and-so-on aunt."

  
"Lady Zoya will need some time to adjust to her new situation," Kasia said quickly. "I had hoped she might be able to stay here, at least for a while."

  
"Yes, yes, of course," Stashek said, smiling a tad too warmly to make up for the earlier awkwardness. "I'm sure Marisha and Artur would love to introduce you to Sigmund."  
  
Zoya smiled politely. "I helped raise my younger siblings. Hopefully, I can be of some assistance to them."

  
Stashek laughed. He'd grown into a booming, genuine laugh that Kasia still sometimes found out of place with the little Stashek she remembered, but that suited a king quite well. "That would be wonderful. They could really use the help." He paused. "Lady Zoya, I’m so very sorry for your loss, but I am truly glad that you have made it safely to us. Know that we will try our hardest to fold you into our family, as it were. Anything you might require, simply ask. Be well."

  
"Thank you," Zoya said, giving a small curtsy again. Kasia eyed the movement with worry. Zoya was stiff and formal. She kept glancing around the throne room, and Kasia knew that she felt keenly out of place.

  
Stashek's advisors began to venture back into the room, and Kasia and Zoya were shooed out. As they left, Zoya whispered, "It looks so different, Kasia. Everything has changed."  
Kasia took her hand and squeezed it, hoping that the assurance of a friend in this familiar but foreign place would be enough.

  
Kasia stayed in the capitol for a week longer, both to help Zoya settle in and to play with little Sigmund. He was younger now than Marisha had been in their flight from the capitol; the most she could really do was let him swat at her fingers or hiccup as she bounced him on one knee. But in a few years, she could take him on adventures to the ocean and the mountains, like she'd done with Marisha and Stashek so many years ago.

  
She sent a letter to Sarkan, asking him if he knew of any wizards from Zoya's era, but he replied that no one he knew hailed from a time quite that long ago. He knew someone who was turning 293 in a month, though, if that was any help.

  
At the end of the week, she was called away to handle a chimera terrorizing a small town on the northern edge of the border with Rosya. She sent a letter ahead to Agnieszka and then stopped in the valley to pick up a spell that would make the beast fearful of the town. She had hoped to visit Agnieszka as well, but it seemed her letter had arrived only just barely in time to catch her before she crossed back through the woods to check in on her old apprentice. The Dragon, it seemed, had gone with as well.

  
She paused in their cabin for a short while, as a friendly villager from a town far enough way to only be familiar with the stories of Lady Kasia, and not the Kasia of this very valley, waited outside. The cabin was tidy, very ordered, and had a vaulted roof that could only have been held up by a spell. It reminded her a little of the tall ceilings of the Dragon's old tower, but the rest of the cabin spoke deeply to the Agnieszka she'd grown up with. The furniture was made of twisted trees. Flowers dotted every surface, save those occupied by books or spell ingredients or gifts from thankful villagers. Kasia smiled. She left a small thank-you note, which also included an admonishment for being gone and a promise to visit again once they had returned.

  
Handling the chimera went better than expected, in no small part due to Agnieszka's spell. Kasia returned to the castle a day earlier than expected. She made her way to Marisha and Artur's rooms, but stopped when she glanced in an open doorway on the way there and saw Zoya, alone, staring out at the city.

  
She knocked on the open door. Zoya startled a little, then relaxed when she saw it was Kasia. She gestured for her to come in and sit next to her on the balcony.

  
Throughout pleasantries, Zoya seemed distracted. Kasia eyed her warily.

  
"What's troubling you?" she finally asked.

  
Zoya frowned. "I don't mean to be ungrateful at all, you must know."

  
Kasia nodded. "But?"

  
"But… It hurts too much to be here, when so much has changed. This part of the castle didn't exist in my day. And there used to be a tower, just over there…" she turned to the window and pointed out some spot on the far edge of the castle. "My brother Aurek and I climbed it and claimed the highest room as our own secret fort. But now it's all gone." She turned back to Kasia, took a deep breath, and looked her in the eyes. "I told you I would choose my own path now, and I think I know what I want."

  
"Ask," Kasia said.

  
Zoya spoke, her words spilling out in one quick breath. "Take me on as an apprentice," she said. "Teach me to be a warrior and an adventurer, like you."

  
Kasia studied her. She could see so much of herself in Zoya. She knew they were different in many ways. A peasant and a princess. One returning so very different to a world unchanged, and one remaining unchanged in an almost unrecognizable land. But they both had keenly felt the pain of losing the world they thought they belonged to. Kasia knew how hard that was. She'd found a way through it, after all these years. Maybe it was a path that could be followed.

  
Slowly, she shook her head. Zoya's face fell, but Kasia held up a hand.

"I don't know if I can teach you to be a warrior, or an adventurer, or anything of the sort. All I know is how to be strong. But there are many kinds of strength, and I know thing or two about a number of them. If you are willing to learn, then I am willing to teach."


End file.
